Sorry, I meant to say Moraea reticulata. Iris cristata's survival
doesn't surprise me too much, since its sister species Iris lacustris
is native to really harshly exposed northern Great Lakes beaches
(~Zone 5a).
Sean Z
Zone 5b
Ann Arbor, MI
Quoting El Hutchison <e*@mts.net>:
> Hmmm, I reticulata survives here, so does that mean so might Moraea
> huttonii? I also have I cristata that's survived for 2 yrs,
> although it hasn't bloomed yet.
>
> Plus, the south side of my property is a sandy gravelly mix in some
> places. On the east side of my little town, the soil becomes very
> sandy. The rest of my property, alas, is the clay gumbo Manitoba is
> famous for.
>
> El, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Z3
> AIS Region 16
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Sean A. Zera" <z*@umich.edu>
> To: <i*@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 9:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [iris-species] Moraea huttonii
>
>
>> Moraea huttonii stood a good chance of survival as it's a high
>> altitude species. I got it from Seneca Hill Perennials, which
>> successfully grows a number of South African genera outside with no
>> protection in New York, though I think they get excellent lake effect
>> snow cover. Here in SE Michigan snow cover is not reliable, and the
>> ground is usually frozen for several months straight. I've got
>> huttonii (and the related M. reticulata) out in the open, but have
>> been mulching the whole garden with silver maple leaves in fall and
>> removing them in March. Other than that I don't do anything special -
>> I did try to make sure the evergreen leaves on the Moraea were buried
>> in the mulch, though I don't think it matters if they're winter killed.
>>
>> Other SA irids that have successfully overwintered for me include
>> Gladiolus oppositiflorus salmoneus, Gladiolus papilio and Tritonia
>> drakensburgensis. I also have a NOID dwarf gladiolus cultivar that
>> does well.
>>
>> As for other methods for overwintering less hardy species, I've had
>> Iris tuberosa (Hermodactylus) outside for six years now, right up
>> against a basement wall but with no other protection. Admittedly it
>> took it until this year to flower again (the location is probably too
>> shady and too dry), but considering it's supposed to be a Zone 7
>> species I can't complain. Several Oncocyclus (Iris paradoxa, barnumae
>> and iberica elegantissima) successfully survived this past winter
>> completely unprotected in a raised sand bed with my cacti. Presumably
>> they would have rotted in the native loam.
>>
>> Sean Z.
>> Zone 5b
>> Ann Arbor, MI
>>
>>
>> Quoting Jim Murrain <j*@kc.rr.com>:
>>
>>>
>>> On May 24, 2010, at 2:25 PM, Sean A. Zera wrote:
>>>
>>> It's always amazing what turns out to be hardy. Here's a photo of
>>> Moraea huttonii (from South Africa) blooming today after overwintering
>>> in southern Michigan.
>>>
>>> Darn-it, now I HAVE to get this. And, yes, please tell us more
>>> about your growing conditions.
>>>
>>>
>>> Jim Murrain
>>> 8871 NW Brostrom Rd
>>> Kansas City, Missouri 64152-2711
>>> USA
>>> Zone 6b/5a
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
